By Jimmy Lee Beason II, Osage Nation
Traditional spirituality among Indigenous communities was considerate of the universe around us and sought to maintain balance. One way this balance was maintained was through clan systems. Within the Osage Nation, my nation, we had two divisions known as the Tsizhu (sky) and Ho^nga (earth). Within these two divisions we had clans such as the puma, bear, thunder, red cedar, and eagle. Today many Osage families still know their clan affiliations and try to abide by clan protocols that guide behavior during social and ceremonial gatherings. Most other Indigenous communities have protocols as well to follow during ceremony or key moments of a person’s life. Everything was geared toward maintaining balance and respect toward the elements.
The society we currently live in which was created by White Christian males is the direct opposite of Indigenous philosophies. The ameropean worldview shuns balance and is absent of any kind of reverence for the natural world, except for federally designated parks manicured for the benefit of tourists to experience the “great outdoors.” Mountains, trees, and rivers are not viewed as relatives with their own spirits, but rather that of inanimate objects existing solely for the entertainment and benefit of bearded white guys enjoying their three-day weekend. Unfortunately, many Natives have been thoroughly indoctrinated into this Eurocentric mindset where an understanding of our traditional worldview has been distorted through Christianity and consumerist thought.
Because of Christianity and colonization, many tribal communities within the colonial borders of North America (as well as around the world) had their original teachings either severely compromised, fragmented or outright erased. While there are many who still have retained pre-colonial traditional knowledge, there are just as many if not more who are completely unaware of these aspects regarding their people’s spirituality. As a result, decolonizing one’s spirituality can be a daunting and challenging task.
On the bright side, in regard to some tribal communities, it should be noted that many tribes had kinship networks, alliances and adoption protocols where those communities who have “lost” a way were gifted another way from their kin. This is true of my Osage people, where the main ceremonial dances during the summer, the Inlonshka, were gifted to us back in the early reservation days by the Kaw and Ponca tribes. Because they took pity on us and seen the needs of our people, today we have a way of coming together to strengthen our familial and cultural bonds that ensure we can be better people and acting on traits such as generosity and respect for each other.
From my own experiences, a huge part of maintaining and strengthening traditional spirituality can be found in the act of abandoning the religion of the colonizer. Although I grew up going to a Baptist Indian church, there was something about it that did not speak to my spirit. I remember hearing the hymns and songs, which were quite beautiful when sung in the Creek and Seminole language, but when I got older and began questioning the world around me, I would wonder why Jesus was depicted as a white man or ponder how we did things prior to Europeans invading our lands. It became apparent that the colonizers religion was incompatible with who I was and what my spirit was yearning for. Even though there were times when I wondered if I would become a dedicated church goer in my teenage years, these were nothing more than fleeting thoughts that did not measure up to the need to learn about our old ways regarding medicine people, ceremony, and the sweat lodge.
In retrospect, I was decolonizing my spirituality before I even knew there was a term for it. And the path of decolonization is not easy. Indeed, it is extremely difficult to correct over 500 years’ worth of hardcore indoctrination and assimilation efforts put forth by the United States government. Today as an Osage man who would consider himself a traditionalist, the pursuit of our liberation in this society coincides with the avoidance of Christian dogma that has done much damage to our Native communities. From criminalizing our ceremonies to forcibly assimilating generations of children into a Eurocentric mindset, we have been collectively assaulted and harmed both physically and psychologically. However, where there is harm, there is healing, and we have much healing to do.
Indeed, many of our ancestors risked their well-being and lives to carry on the ceremonies we do have today by practicing them in secret away from white missionaries and BIA agents. Because of their actions, I am able to teach our children the ways of their ancestors relatively unhindered. It is for the children, that decolonizing the spiritual becomes necessary.
